The Many Faces of Laughter
by coastal-spirit
Summary: By the age of five, Akito had discerned that there were many different types of laughter. Contains spoilers for the whole of the Fruits Basket manga.


Author's notes:

As always, comments, constructive criticism, and praise, however faint, are all greatly desired and will be appreciated.

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Fruits Basket belongs to Takaya Natsuki and Hakusensha; English-language versions by FUNimation (anime) and Tokyopop (manga). This piece of fiction is in no way approved or endorsed by any of the copyright holders.

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By the age of five, Akito had discerned that there were many different types of laughter. Her father's laughter was gentle and kind, and it comforted her. Her mother's laughter was shrill and scary; and it made her want to hide, because it usually meant trouble, for her or for someone else. Her maids' laughter sounded silly, or sometimes mean; and it generally stopped abruptly when Akito came into the room, a fact that both annoyed and puzzled her. Shigure's laughter was teasing; and, depending upon the situation and her mood, either made her laugh, or made her very, very angry. Ayame's laughter was loud; and again, depending upon her mood, she would either laugh at his silliness, or cover her ears and tell him to be quiet. Kureno's laughter was soft and shy, and made her feel happy, especially if she was the one who caused it. Hatori very rarely laughed out loud, but she could sometimes see laughter in his eyes, and she wondered at his quietness.

Akito also often heard the laughter of the children playing outside the windows of her house, and it made her long to go out and play, too. But her maids said that she wasn't allowed to play with the "common" Sohma children – those who weren't among her jyuunishi – and when she asked if she could play with Kagura and Isuzu, who were her Boar and her Horse, and who were both close to her in age, her mother said that Akito wasn't allowed to play with girls. And so, the laughter of the other children made her feel sad, and angry, and lonely.

There was another type of laughter that she was aware of, too. This was secret laughter that came unbidden from someplace deep inside her. It filled her with joy, but it also scared her a little because she knew that it came from the spirit of the God, and that sometimes, she couldn't control it. She felt it a little bit every time she saw _any_ of her jyuunishi; but the feeling was strongest, most uncontrollable, when she met one of her jyunnishi for the first time.

Just recently, she had been taken to see Baby Hatsuharu, her Ox. Her mother and father accompanied her, and they warned her to be quiet, so as not to wake the baby if he was sleeping. Akito stood on her tiptoes and looked in the crib. Hatsuharu was indeed, sleeping. His little eyes were closed, and the black-and-white fuzz on the top of his head looked so invitingly soft that Akito wanted to reach out and touch it. The sight of him lying there, sleeping peacefully, filled her with joy. She felt the laughter start deep within her, and before she knew it, it bubbled up and overflowed and spilled out into the room. The baby opened his brown eyes, and for a moment, she saw startled recognition there, and then, tears forming. She reached out her hand to touch his soft hair, to comfort him and to let him know that he was hers and that she loved him; but suddenly, her mother grabbed her hand, pulled it away, and slapped it. "You were told to keep quiet!"

At that, the baby started to wail, and Akito, angry and hurt, turned on her mother and gave her a look full of venom. "I can touch him if I want to! He's _mine_." Ren raised her hand as if she intended to slap Akito in earnest this time, but Akito quickly turned to her father and said, "Isn't that right, Father?"

Akira picked Akito up, and almost imperceptibly, moved her out of Ren's reach. In a quiet, gentle tone, not at all scolding, he said, "I think your anger is frightening the baby, Akito," and at that moment, she knew it to be true, as she felt the fear coming from the spirit of the Ox; and while it made her sad, it also gave her a thrill of power that she had rarely experienced before.

Akito looked at her father and said, "What can I do to make him stop crying?"

Her father said, "Perhaps if you calm down and we smile at him, that will help."

"Can I touch him? I won't hurt him." Akito asked her father.

"Let's ask his parents if perhaps that would be all right." Still holding Akito, Akira turned to where Hatsuharu's parents stood, and she saw the baby's mother nod and smile at her.

Akito's father lifted her over the crib so that she could reach down and touch Hatsuharu. As she did, her laughter bubbled up again, quieter and gentler this time, and she saw the baby smile through his tears. She felt the spirit of the Ox calm, and her own spirit responded in turn. "You're mine, Baby Hatsuharu. I won't let anyone hurt you," she said softly. The baby grabbed her finger and tried to put it in his mouth, and she giggled. "Look Father! He's trying to eat me!"

She turned and looked up at her father, and saw that he was smiling at her fondly. He lifted her back up, held her close for a moment, and said, "You're a good child, Akito," before setting her on her feet.

On the way home, Akito trailed behind her parents, thinking about what had happened, and trying to puzzle it out in her mind. _If the jyuunishi spirits make __them__ cry when they meet __me__, why does the God-spirit make __me__ laugh when I meet __them__? _She shook her small head, and decided that would be a good question to ask Shigure the next time she saw him.

She looked at her parents walking ahead of her – at her mother, walking stiff and straight, still full of anger. Akito's father reached out his hand and said, "Come, Ren, don't be angry anymore."

Ren said, "You let that wretched child get away with far too much"; but still let him grasp her hand and pull her closer to him.

Akira put his arm around her and said quietly, "Akito is a special child, Ren. _Our_ special child. _Ours_. _Yours and mine_." He smiled at Ren gently, and Akito felt, rather than saw, something secret pass between them.

At that moment, Akito saw her mother's face soften as she looked up at her husband. Ren smiled back at Akira, snaked her arm around him possessively, and put her head on his shoulder; and Akito heard her laugh a deep, throaty laugh. _That_ laughter made Akito feel left out, and uncomfortable, and somehow, afraid.


End file.
